VOX POPULI: Spring is the best season for those who have a taste for wild plants
Tempura of “taranome,” or sprouts of “taranoki,” (Japanese Angelica tree), and “udo” (Aralia cordata) dressed with vinegared miso are two popular dishes prepared from “sansai” edible wild plants.
Spring is the season for lovers of wild edibles.
Fujiko Taniguchi, a master of foraging from Anamizu, a town in Ishikawa Prefecture, had eaten up to 200 types of wild plants until her death at 88.
She would start her “bud patrol” soon after Keichitsu, the solar term for when insects awaken from winter, walking through the mountains of the Noto Peninsula.
One troublesome bit about eating wild vegetables is their preparation.
In her book “Yamanba Noto wo Kurau” (A mountain witch eats Noto), Taniguchi carefully explained how to remove the bitterness from wild vegetables.
Some wild plants should be blanched in boiling water with a pinch of salt added. For others, add a little vinegar. And there are those that need to be rinsed in water after boiling.
Following her tips for preparation, I made “‘fuki’ Japanese butterbur miso,” using “fukinoto” butterbur stalks, again this year.
It’s an excellent topping for rice and goes great in onigiri rice balls.
When I take a bite and enjoy its taste and aroma, one of my favorite haiku poems always comes to mind: “Finding fukinoto/ today is good enough with this.”
The poet Ayako Hosomi (1907-1997), who composed this haiku, was fond of butterbur sprouts.
She found just one in her garden and thought, “Everything about today is good enough with this.”
Such a description of her feelings at that time is included in her “Musashino Saijiki” (A collection of writings about seasonal things in Musashino), a straightforward and pure expression of joy.
Born in the Meiji Era (1868-1912) and hailing from Tanba, Hyogo Prefecture, Hosomi moved to Tokyo, where her husband died of intestinal tuberculosis two years into their marriage.
Three months after returning to her hometown, her mother also died of illness, and Hosomi became sick, herself.
She began composing haiku during her recovery, encouraged by her physician.
Hosomi always had a natural attitude and never missed the slightest light piercing through the darkness.
Another haiku she composed goes: “Eating butterbur sprouts/ without polluting the air.”
To live is to breathe, to eat.
The bittersweet taste of spring cleanses the soul and brings forth strength.
--The Asahi Shimbun, March 17
* *
*Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.
Related articles
Supreme Court declines to hear challenge to Maryland ban on rifles known as assault weapons
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Monday declined, for now, to hear a challenge to a Maryland l2024-05-22People are calling $700 AI gadget the worst piece of tech they've ever used
Reviews are in for a tiny $700 wearable computer, less than 2 square-inches in size, made by two for2024-05-22- TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Former U.S. Sen. and two-term Florida Gov. Bob Graham, who gained national2024-05-22
Arrests made a year after gold and cash worth millions were stolen at Toronto airport
TORONTO (AP) — Police have made arrests in the theft of a cargo container that included gold and oth2024-05-22Israeli army says it kills over 130 militants in E. Rafah
JERUSALEM, May 18 (Xinhua) -- The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have killed more than 130 militants in2024-05-22- A former warden at the prison where the Boston Marathon bomber is living has slammed the killer for2024-05-22
atest comment